


young gods

by everyotherfreckle



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Sexual Content, this is an con-artist au okay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-29
Updated: 2017-02-20
Packaged: 2018-08-18 11:54:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 21,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8161241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/everyotherfreckle/pseuds/everyotherfreckle
Summary: “i’m not a conman, though. all i do is pick pockets.”“the principle’s the same. just bigger pockets.”//or the one where finn's a pickpocket, rey's a little something more and the two of them are on their way to becoming something legendary.





	1. one.

"Excuse me, do you have the time?"

Finn found that while that particular line was simple, it was very effective. Just as he wanted, his target – young, pretty, seemingly distracted by the soccer game on the television above the bar – turned over the phone in her hand and pressed the home button to wake up the screen.

"Eight-thirty-three." She answers with a bright smile. Finn almost feels bad for this. Almost.

"Thank you." And with that, he takes off, barely able to stifle the satisfied smirk on his lips.

He slips out the bar's side door in the street alley. He knows this place quite well and no one except for employees and the occasional drunk that's been tossed out are ever out here. And neither one of those people would find a young guy checking his wallet underneath the dim alley lights strange.

Even though it wasn't his wallet at all.

Oddly enough, Finn doesn't even remember when he started pickpocketing, only that he had been _very_ young and _very_ bad at it. He kept on with it, though, perfecting his skills at lifting wallets and bags and other items until he was nearly able to sustain himself off his pickings alone.

He doesn't need to do it as much now given that he actually has a decent job as a bagboy at the local super store, but sometimes it's still nice to pick a couple of fifties from a stranger's wallet so he can treat himself every once in a while.

Only the particular stranger Finn's chosen to lift from tonight is – gently putting it – pathetically broke.

Finn looks through the faded yellow wallet – what kind of person even owns a yellow wallet? – with a frown. Besides a library card, she has no credit cards and only four bucks in cash. Well, there go his plans of picking up a to-go box from that new Italian restaurant that just opened up a few blocks from his apartment.

"Rey S." Finn shakes his head at the name on the library card. "Thanks for nothing."

Just as Finn is about to toss the wallet into the nearby dumpster, the bar's side door swings open and _Rey S._ descends down the two small steps and out into the dark alley.

So. _This_ is happening.

Finn's only been caught by his targets twice before, and both of those times he'd been under thirteen and still able to ' _cute_ ' his way out of a bad situation. Now he's twenty-three and not so sure a cheeky smile and a fake apology is going to work on her.

He's expecting her to yell or threaten to call the cops on him or something other than what she actually does. This girl just leans against the brick wall of the side of the bar, folds her arms over her chest and clicks her tongue at him.

"No offense," she says. "But you suck."

"Excuse me?"

"' _Excuse me, do you have the time?_ '," she mocks his accent, her own being British. "Besides the fact that there was literally a giant clock hanging right behind you on the wall inside _and_ that I gave you the wrong time, I totally felt you reach into my bag. You're all thumbs, man."

Finn is offended. Really offended. His technique is solid and this Rey S. girl doesn't know what she's talking about.

"Look, I don't know what makes you think you can critique my skills, but here," he tosses her the yellow wallet. "It's not even worth taking."

She – _Rey_ – approaches him, stepping into his personal space. "Why'd you choose me? There was a group of guys who were absolutely _hammered_ with their wallets just hanging out in the open. They were practically begging for it."

"Yeah, but not all of them were wasted. They had a sober guy in their group and he would've blown my cover." Finn motions to the bag slung on her shoulder. It’s a black messenger bag patterned with tiny gold logos of a fancy designer brand Finn has slim knowledge of. "You were all into the game on TV, you had a designer bag, which means you had money – or at least I thought you did – _and_ young women tend not to notice much of what’s going on around them when there's a cute guy talking to them."

"What makes you think I would've thought you were cute?" She asks, left eyebrow raised.

Finn shrugs. "Everyone thinks I'm cute."

Rey laughs with a roll of her eyes, and turns sharply on her heel, heading out of the alley and onto the sidewalk. Before she gets too far away, she turns back to face Finn.

"Funny," she raises her hands, the watch he was wearing clutched in one and his wallet in the other. "Everyone thinks I'm cute, too."

Never – and he means never – has Finn been picked from. He always thought himself to savvy to fall for any of the usual tricks yet he just fell victim to the oldest one in the book.

He got distracted by a pretty girl being in his space.

Finn takes off after her, not letting her get too far down the sidewalk before he catches up.

"Relax," Rey says, handing him his possessions back. "I don't actually want your stuff, I was just trying to prove a point."

"And that being?" Finn falls into step next to her, sliding on his watch and placing his wallet back into his back pocket.

"That you suck and I'm better at this than you." She answers, as if it were obvious. "I mean did you even feel me take your watch?"

Of course he didn't. If he had, he would've stopped her, but she knows that. She knows that he didn't feel her unclasp his watch or slide her hand into his back pocket and lift his wallet.

Finn doesn't know who this Rey girl is, but she's good.

"In fact," she stops and nods towards an older gentleman heading their way. "Watch and learn."

Finn watches her jog up to the man, the three buns she wore her hair in bouncing up and down as she approaches him. She looks adorably confused as she folds her hands over one another and asks him if she could use his phone to call her brother. She bats her eyelashes and bites her lip and, unsurpisingly, the man obliges. Finn doesn't know if she really calls anyone or not, only that when she's done, she shakes the man's hand, mentions something about the gold and navy 'M' pendant on his coat, laughs and sends him on his way. The man smiles at Finn as he walks past him, none the wiser to the fact that he's just been stolen from.

Rey walks back over to Finn, grinning like a cheshire cat. She opens her palm towards him, revealing an enormously blinged out class ring.

"You took that right off of his hand?" Finn can't even pretend like he's not impressed. That takes some skill. "How did he not feel that?"

"Told ya," she tosses the ring up before catching it in her opposite hand. "I'm good. Now come on."

Finn follows her without a second thought.

"Hey, I didn't catch your name." She pulls out her phone and begins typing a text message out, sliding it back into the pocket of her jacket when the reply to her message comes.

"It's Finn." They stop at a crosswalk, waiting for the cars to pass before crossing the street. They’re heading into a slightly seedier part of town. A few streetlamps look to have burned out and the businesses lining the shopping strips all look old, rundown. "And you didn't answer my question. How'd you do that back there?"

Rey takes a breath, almost like she’s been just _waiting_ for the opportunity to tell him. "He was an older man with no wedding band on his finger and I'm an attractive young woman. I could have asked him for a kidney and he would have given it to me."

"So you used sex appeal?" Finn scoffs. A little weak for his tastes, perhaps not even all that skillful, but hey. Use what you got, he supposes.

"Not just that. He had no ring _but_ he had a tan line on his finger, which means he _was_ married at some point. So I figure there's a chance he has either a daughter or a granddaughter that I remind him of, so I played into that as well. All of that plus constant little touches here and there – he won't even notice the ring is gone until he gets home."

And for the third time in about thirty minutes, Finn finds himself thoroughly impressed with her.

Rey is by far the most fascinating person he's ever randomly met on the street. Never mind the crazy coincidence that they're both pickpockets, but there's just something about her. Something that has Finn following her to some unknown location without hesitation.

They reach their destination rather quickly. It's a pawnshop, but the sign hung in the window says they’re closed. Rey still knocks on the glass door. Within a few seconds, a curly haired man appears and unlocks the door to let them both in.

"Who's this?" He asks referring to Finn. "I know you didn’t go out and get another friend behind my back because you promised me that _I_ would be your only friend."

Rey rolls her eyes and places the ring in his hand. "He tried to pickpocket me."

The curly haired man clicks his tongue. "Did she cut you? Because she cut the last guy that tried to steal from her."

Finn looks over at Rey, slightly horrified. She just shakes her head. Finn can't decide which one them is telling the truth.

The man inspects the ring and opens the register behind the counter with a deep sigh. He pulls out – what is by Finn's count – five hundred-dollar bills and hands them to Rey.

"Alright. I will go make this disappear." He says, pocketing the ring. “Pleasure doing business.”

Rey smiles, tipping the bills in her hand towards the man as she heads towards the door. "Thank you, Poe. See you around."

Finn follows her out of the shop, more than a little confused at the exchange that just took place. Before he can ask any questions, though, Rey hands him one of the hundred-dollar bills.

"What's this for?" He asks, suspiciously. No one ever just gives someone money without some sort of catch. Finn has a feeling that is especially true for Rey.

"Do you believe in fate, Finn?" Rey asks, completely ignoring his question to ask her own as she stuffs the money into her yellow wallet and then the wallet into her bag.

Finn thinks he might. He would like to believe he has _some_ control over how his life turns out but sometimes there are moments (like tonight) that are easier explained by attributing it to some unknown force pulling the strings in his life.

He lifts a shoulder, indifferently. "Maybe?"

Rey smiles at him like she knows something he doesn't. "So is pickpocketing your full time job or do you do something else to help pay the bills?"

"I work at Naboo Superstore."

"Noted." Rey steps in front of him, her hand resting on his bicep. Finn is suddenly extremely cautious of her movements. He moves his own hand to the pocket where his wallet rests, just to be sure. "Well, I would love to chat with you some more but I actually have to go. Was fun meeting you though!"

"Yeah," Finn doesn't know if fun is the word he'd use, but he agrees all the same. "This was quite the experience."

"Goodnight, Finn!" With that, Rey turns and heads down the sidewalk in the opposite direction. Finn stays in front of the pawnshop for a bit, fiddling with the hundred-dollar bill in his hand as he watches her and her three buns disappear into the dimly neon-lit shop signs that illuminated this part of the city.

He wonders if he'll ever see her again.

(He kind of hopes he does.)

When he finally starts to head back in the direction of the bar, he lifts his wrist to check the time. His watch is gone. Again.

She really is good.

*

A couple days later when Finn is in the parking lot at work, pushing the shopping baskets together and making a giant chain from them, a fancy looking white sedan pulls up in the space a few feet from him. He mostly ignores it – although it _is_ a little strange seeing a car like that at a store like this – until the driver’s side door opens and he sees three buns.

Finn abandons his shopping cart chain and walks over to Rey, who looks more than a little happy to see him.

“Finn!” She greets him, leaning against the trunk of her shiny vehicle. “What are the odds of me running into you here?”

“Considering I told you I work here,” he folds his arms across his chest. “Pretty darn high.”

Rey shrugs. “So then I guess it’s pretty obvious I’m not here to buy toilet paper in bulk.”

Finn shakes his head. “You don’t strike me as the kind of person that buys _anything_ in bulk.”

Then Rey smiles that smile of hers again, the one that makes him believe there’s something happening in their conversation that only she knows about.

"I have a job for you." She says plainly.

" _This_ ,” Finn motions to the chain of carts behind him. “Is my job."

"No, I mean like a fun job that doesn't involve wrangling shopping carts. _And_ a job that makes use of your, albeit lackluster, skills!”

Finn frowns at her critique of his skills. Which are totally _average_. She just happens to be weirdly good.

“What, do you want me to accompany you to some country club so I can watch you steal some more class rings off of rich old guys?” Finn sighs. “Because if so, I’m afraid I’ll stick to wrangling carts.”

“While that sounds like bundles of fun, I was actually thinking more along the lines of you accompanying me to Monaco to _help_ me pull off a pretty heavy con and accumulate roughly half a million dollars. I mean we’ll have to split three ways but – “

When he met her all those nights ago at the bar, Finn had an inkling Rey _might_ be a little offbeat, but now he’s positive she’s downright insane.

“Rey,” he stares at her incredulously. “We barely know each other. In fact, what little relationship we _do_ have is built off of the fact that I tried to _steal_ from you. And now you’re asking me to jet off to Europe with you for a _con_?”

“Finn I asked you the night we met if you believed in fate and you said yes.”

“I actually said maybe.”

“Whatever, same thing. But listen,” Rey walks up to him, her eyes – big and hazel and _pleading_ – fixed on his. “ _I_ believe in fate and I believe there’s a reason we met.”

Finn wonders if this is how that old man on the street felt. Completely unable to say no to the pretty face staring back at him.

Rey worries at her bottom lip for a moment before moving her wrist up into his line of sight. She’s wearing his watch.

“I’m not a conman, though. All I do is pick pockets.” Finn says, softly.

“The principle’s the same. Just bigger pockets.” Rey replies with a growing grin.

Finn sighs and looks over his shoulder at the carts behind him, then at his watch still on Rey’s small wrist.

The choice – however irresponsible and downright _foolish_ – is obvious.

“I don’t have a passport.” He says, unbuttoning his green Naboo Superstore vest.

“Let’s go get you one then!”

Rey backs away just far enough to extend her hand to him. With one more look at the giant building of the megastore behind him, Finn takes her hand and doesn’t look back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i promised myself i would _not_ do anymore chaptered fics (or modern au fics) bc i suck at them but i watched 'focus' (great movie; 10/10 def. recommend) and lmao here we are!!! i obviously know nothing about conning so ya know....we're all gonna have to pretend i know what i'm talking about here okay. also this one is gonna get super trope-y so...buckle up y'all. i'll have to update the tags as this moves along, too :))
> 
> anyway, i hope you all enjoyed the first chapter. your kudos/comments are always appreciated!


	2. two.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> finn gets a little practice in.

The inside of Rey's sedan is just as nice as the outside. She has one of those fancy navigation systems, nice leather seats and just about the slickest radio display he's ever seen in a car.

"So the bag and your clothes and your car," Finn starts, the soft hum of a Kings of Leon song gently playing from the car's speakers behind his words. "How do you afford it all? Does this all come from having that pawnshop guy pay you for stuff you take?"

Rey laughs, eyes still fixed on the road. "No, Poe only pays me on special occasions. I usually fund everything through my cons."

If pickpocketing was kindergarten, conning was graduate school. Finn didn't know much about it only that it involved some degree of storytelling, of weaving believable lies and wrapping things up without leaving anything to trace it back to yourself. It seemed difficult but he had a feeling Rey would make it look easy.

Her eyes flicker over to him for just a second and a smirk grows on her lips. "Don't look at me like that. I don't hurt people with my cons and I don't leave them completely broke. I'm very selective with my targets."

This time Finn laughs. "Ah, so you're a conwoman with a heart. Touching."

"Shut up," she giggles and he looks out of the window to avoid her seeing the look on his face. (Which is something akin to blushing, he's sure.) "So how'd your _former_ employers take your resignation?"

Finn scoffs. "Eh, I was replaceable there. They can find just about anyone on the street to bag groceries and wrangle carts. They weren't too torn up about it."

"Well, you're not replaceable here. You're the only one that can help me pull this off."

Finn doesn't know how truthful that is – he's sure if he didn't agree to all this, she could have easily found someone else that would have – but the statement still makes him feel nice.

"What _are_ you trying to pull off exactly?"

Rey pushes a button on the steering wheel that lowers the music in the car. In the short time he's known her, she's always had a lightness about her. His question has seemed to make her lose all of that. Her lips are pressed in a hard line and her grip on the wheel has tightened slightly.

"There's a man in Monaco called Mr. Snoke. He's been asking around various social circles to get his hands on a particular painting and you and I are going to sell it to him." Rey hesitates a moment before shaking her head, as if to shake off the sudden bout of seriousness. She looks over at him, her mischievous grin returning to her face. “We can worry about that later, though. We have more important things to attend to right now. Like getting a bite to eat!”

And, yeah, Finn could definitely go for some food right about now so he’ll just keep all his questions about Monaco, this Snoke guy and the painting on the backburner for the moment.

Finn’s half-expecting Rey to pull into some fast food drive-thru or one of those cheap chain restaurants, but instead she parks on the street adjacent to what appears to be a _very_ fancy restaurant. There are valets out front parking Bentleys and Jaguars and it’s only then Finn realizes they are quite far from _their_ neighborhood.

“What are we doing here?” He’s almost afraid to ask but – “ _Please_ don’t tell me we’re about to rob this place or something.”

“What? No! I’m a con artist, not a lazy robber. Doing what I do takes some real imagination whereas robbers are just so… _uninspiring_.” Rey mutters as she unclicks her seatbelt. She reaches over into the glove compartment and pulls out a money clip that doesn’t hold any actual money, but a driver’s license and a black credit card. “But whatever, that’s beside the point. We are here because you need practice.”

“Practice?” Finn grabs the clip, which she’s handing to him. He inspects the card and the ID and find they both belong to a mister Lando Calrissian.

“Conning people is essentially the same as picking their pockets. You distract them, get what you want and make sure you leave quickly enough before they can catch you. Only with conning, everything is ten times harder. Distractions take the form of stories; you have to become someone and create an entire _believable_ life for them. That’s what you need practice in before we take off for France.”

And, okay. Finn can see the practicality in that. You wouldn’t just start a rookie in the SuperBowl without at least giving him some practice time first.

Rey leans across the center console, pointing at the cards in his hands. “I ' _borrowed_ ' these from my buddy Lando here a few weeks ago. After a few clever phone calls, I discovered that he has a reservation here at six o’clock tonight. _We_ , however, want to eat here now.”

Finn raises an eyebrow, completely confused. “I’m lost.”

She grabs his face in her hands, shaking his head slightly. “Just use that beautiful brain I know you have to get us a table.”

It’s a test, and one he _has_ to pass. In fact, Finn knows he doesn’t only have to get them in, but he has to do it with a certain bit of flair.

 _This is just like pickpocketing_ , he reminds himself. Inside the restaurant, are just people. And people can be tricked, conned. If Finn were trying to take one of these people’s wallets, he would distract them first. Distract or leave him confused, too preoccupied with one thing to focus on another. Right. He can do this.

Finn exits the car, with Rey just behind him. They both definitely aren’t _dressed_ the part – she’s in jeans and a colorful jumper while he’s in his sky blue work polo and khakis – but as long as they have the money to pay the bill, he’s sure the restaurant won’t care.

When they walk in, the tired looking maître d’ perks up, plastering on a fake smile as he greets them.

“Welcome to _Plaque Dorée_! Can I get the reservation name please?”

“Um,” Finn swallows. He can do this. Hecandothis hecandothis _he can do this_! “Calrissian.”

There’s a pause followed by a click of his tongue. “Sir, it would seem your reservation is actually at six, not four.”

“Right, see,” Finn sighs, this _persona_ he’s creating starting to settle in him a bit. He gives a small chuckle before grabbing on to Rey’s hand. “My father, bless him, actually made those reservations as a surprise for me and my fiancée here as a ‘ _thank you_ ’ for us taking care of him after his recent medical scare – horrible stuff, he’s probably gonna need a new heart – only he misread my calendar and made the reservation for the wrong time.”

The maître d’ looks partially convinced. He looks down at the tablet in front of him. “While I am sorry to hear about your father’s health, I can’t just open a table for you – “

“Listen,” Finn leans on the small podium and drops his voice so only he can hear. “Normally I would walk out of here and just let this go, but we’re kind of celebrating for _three_ , if you know what I mean.”

Ailing father, baby on the way, plus he’s laying on the ‘puppy-dog eyes’ pretty thick – there’s no way Finn’s _not_ getting this table.

After a pensive few seconds, the maître d’ nods and grabs two menus from beneath him podium. “Follow me, sir.”

Finn looks over at Rey with a very proud smirk on his face before leading the two of them behind the maître d’.

When they arrive at their table – which is perfectly tucked away in the corner of the dining room – Rey waits until they’re alone to finally speak.

“Well look at you!” She punctuates her words by reaching across the table to give him a gentle tap on the shoulder. “I must say, I am thoroughly impressed.”

“Did you not think I could do it?” Finn asks, playfully feigning offense.

“Oh no, I knew you could do it I just didn’t think you’d get it done that fast. I mean that was what, five minutes?” She sets her elbow on the table, her chin resting on her hand. “I knew I picked the right partner for this gig.”

Just as Finn is about to ask more about the aforementioned gig, the waiter appears at their table ready to take their order. Finn is about to order something that isn’t too expensive when he remembers the black card currently tucked into his pocket. He isn’t paying for it, so he might as well treat himself. And Rey too, of course.

Once they’ve put their orders in, and the waiter returns with their drinks – water for Rey since she’s driving and some expensive wine Finn can’t even pronounce the name of – the two of them delve into a little small talk.

They talk about anything that isn’t their lives – sports, music, television, _everything_. Finn discovers that Rey hates scary movies but loves haunted houses. Finn confesses to her that he’s actually never seen Breaking Bad, despite faking his way through _many_ conversations about it.

It’s nice and simple and lasts through their meal. Talking to Rey is easy, easier than talking to anyone else in Finn’s life. She laughs loudly and smiles often and Finn would say being around her is something like being around the sun.

(Which is _lame_ and not even poetic, but he’s sort of at a lost on how to properly describe the feeling he gets around her.)

While they’re waiting for their dessert – they’re going to split a chocolate lava cake because why not? – Finn decides to go ahead and ask what he’s wanted to ever since he met her.

“So,” he starts, swirling the ice in the glass of water in front of him around with the straw sticking out of it. “How’d you start pickpocketing?”

Rey groans, leaning back in her chair. “You know, I usually make people wait a grace period before I let them in on my tragic backstory. But, what the hell, you’re kind of the most awesome person I’ve ever met so I’ll waive the grace period for you.”

Finn grins. He’s the most awesome person she knows. That’s…awesome.

“When I was little, probably no more than a year old, my mum died. My dad was so torn up about it that he just threw himself into his work. Fast forward a few years and he basically worked himself to death. So I was five and parentless and when social services tried to release me into the care of my aunt, the good ol’ American government wouldn’t let it happen.” She sighs, fiddling with the corner of her napkin. “Anyway, I was a little kid in the system and that life is almost always about fending for yourself so I started lifting wallets and purses. Now I’m here.”

Finn narrows his eyes at her, mentally trying to work out the odds she knows _his_ story and has made up her own just to pull his leg. They’re slim, but she’s good. He wouldn’t put it past her.

“Are you messing with me right now?” He asks.

“Why would I be messing with you?” She asks, taking a sip of her water.

“Because the reason _I_ started pickpocketing is literally the same as yours.” Rey gives him a look of disbelief to which Finn responds by placing his hand over his heart. “I swear to you. I was shuffled around from group home to group home and somewhere along the way I just started taking stuff from people just so I could have a decent meal.”

Rey hums thoughtfully. “So what about now? Hearing that we come from almost identical backgrounds, do you believe in fate now?”

Finn shrugs. “I guess I would have to. Unless, you know, you were lying to me.”

Rey reaches across the table and lays her hand on top of his. Her eyes meet his, bright and open and _honest_. “Finn, you may see me lie to a lot of people, but I’ll never lie to you. I mean it.”

The waiter clears his throat as he arrives at their table, causing their hands to jolt apart. He places their dessert in the center of the table with a small smile and an amused, “ _Enjoy_ ”. Finn’s face feels rather warm.

Finn stares at the fork between his fingers, not sure if he has it in him to look at Rey right now. “Well, the same goes for me. I won’t lie to you either.”

The clank of a fork against the plate their lava cake sat on causes Finn to look up and see a panicked look on Rey’s face. He follows her eyes toward the maître d’ post and sees him speaking with a woman and a man he happens to recognize.

“Shit,” Rey glances down at the watch – _his_ watch – on her wrist and winces. “It’s six. That’s Lando. We gotta go. _Now_.”

In a moment of quick thinking, Finn pockets a fork and grabs their plate of lava cake. He takes one last look at an angry looking Lando Calrissian before taking hold of Rey’s outstretched hand and leaving without a second glance back.


	3. three.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> meet mr. snoke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> all of the lovely comments you guys have been leaving.....i am overwhelmingly happy about it. keeps me updating so quickly <3

There has only been one other time in Finn's life that he's been on an airplane.

He was on a trip to some cruddy theme park with his foster family at the time and he absolutely hated it. There was just something about being that high in the air, with some stranger flying them halfway across the country that did not sit very well with Finn. That flight - however uncomfortable - thankfully only lasted two hours.

This one happens to be a grueling _twelve-hour_ flight.

There are some positives to the long flight, though. They happen to be on a cushy private plane - which Rey won't say how she acquired, only that it isn't technically stolen and ' _Ben won't even miss it_ ' - and the length of the flight gives him time to think about what they're about to do in Monaco.

Shortly after narrowly escaping being caught stealing their meal at that fancy restaurant, Rey finally divulged the details of their con.

The man in question - Mr. Snoke - was the owner of three priceless paintings by an unknown artist who seemingly disappeared from the art world without so much as a goodbye. However, there's one piece that is missing from his collection, a piece - that's actually just a convincing fake - that Finn and Rey are going to sell to him.

It seems simple enough only it isn't at all. Mr. Snoke has a ridiculous amount of security around him at all times and isn't exactly open to random people offering him rare paintings seemingly out-of-the-blue. Which is where the front Rey's come up with for them comes in.

The two of them were to pose as a wealthy young couple - really obnoxious 'new money' types - that just so happen to be in possession of the painting and are looking to offload it. It isn't going to be a quick con by any means. They're going to have to work to gain Snoke's trust in order to sell him the painting but after all of their preparation, Finn is confident they can do it.

(And if they can't sell it to Snoke, well, surely there's some other rich dude that'll gladly take it.)

The plane hits a bit of turbulence and Finn grips tightly onto the armrest of his seat. His eyes instantly screw shut and he starts the breathing techniques his foster dad taught him back during his first time in a plane.

The feeling of a soft hand on top of his gets him to open his eyes. Rey's in the seat next to him, giving him a supportive smile as she runs her thumb over the back of his hand soothingly.

"You really don't like flying do you?"

Finn shakes his head, thankful that the turbulence seems to be over.

"It's not exactly my favorite thing in the world, no." He replies with a pained smile.

"Well here," Rey grabs her laptop and places it on his lap, her hand finding his again once she's done. "Let's spend these next few hours watching Breaking Bad. It'll totally take your mind off of things."

Finn happens to also have a thing about planes and electronics but he'll put it aside for now. He's just pleased to see Rey is caring enough to want to ease his discomfort.

Halfway through the fourth episode - this actually is a _really_ good show - Finn hears the soft snores coming from beside him. Rey's head is rested against his shoulder, her eyes closed peacefully. And just when he thought she couldn't get any cuter...

The thought vaguely reminds him of the conversation he and Rey had in his apartment a few nights ago while they were planning.

" _There will be tons of attractive French girls that will probably fawn all over you but - and this is the most important part of the con,_ " she told him. " _Do not mix business and pleasure. Don't let them distract you from our goal here. Keep it in your pants until we get paid, okay?_ "

Finn had nodded and stifled a smile, mostly because he doubted any woman would be able to distract his focus for even a second.

(Especially because the only woman that threatened his focus was the one he was working with.)

Perhaps it's a bit unreasonable to plan for, but after this is done and dusted, Finn thinks he might like to ask Rey out. Like, on a legit not-stolen, no-cons date. He sort of really likes her and he has a feeling she may like him and - who knows? They could maybe be good for one another.

But that was far away. They still have a week in Monaco to get through first.

*

After they land, Finn and Rey head to the swanky hotel they're staying in for the duration of their trip. It's a beautiful building that looks more like a museum than a hotel. Finn stares at it in awe for a moment before correcting himself. He's supposed to be a rich, well traveled socialite. Architecturally amazing buildings aren't supposed to leave him in awe.

Once the bellboy has finished bringing up all of their luggage - they did _a lot_ of shopping before they left the US - Finn relishes the chance to be able to freely talk to Rey.

"So, where are the others staying?" By others he means the rest of their team. Finn met them the day before they left for France.

There was Poe - aka pawnshop dude - who was to be their driver/pilot/fake painting maker. Pava, who's here for the tech side of the con. And a man called Snap who's their extra muscle.

"They're at a hostel a few blocks from here." Rey sighs as she sits on the edge of the giant king sized bed in the room, removing her her heels and giving her feet a rub. "I can already tell I am _not_ going to enjoy my wardrobe for this trip."

Finn laughs, glancing down at his own outfit. He's normally a t-shirt and jeans guy, but the wealthy version of himself prefers button-downs, sports jackets and impeccably tailored slacks. And it's the same for Rey. She always dressed in joggers and sneakers but her persona wears nothing but high heels and fashionable dresses.

(Which, truthfully, Finn doesn't find _too_ unappealing to look at, but still. He feels bad she's uncomfortable.)

She tugs at the clingy black fabric of her dress. "These dresses feel more like a second skin than actual clothing."

He would have to agree with her there. They _look_ more like a second skin than actual clothing.

"So," Finn clears his throat, just a tad desperate to shift focus away from her current outfit. "When do we meet Snoke?"

"Tonight. He's going to be at this casino slash pool party thing, so we're gonna go count some cards, cheat him out a few grand, and hope that gets his attention."

"And if it doesn't?"

"Then we try again tomorrow." She stands from the bed and walks up to him, her hands coming up to tug at the lapels of his jacket. "You nervous?"

Finn sighs as he watches her brush little pieces of lint off of his jacket. "Well we _are_ attempting to swindle a man out of half a million dollars so - "

"No, not about _that_. We can handle that." Rey scoffs and meets his eyes. She looks pensive, maybe even anxious. "I meant are you nervous about us? About having to pretend to be married and be convincing at it?"

Truthfully, he isn't. Finn has warmed to Rey faster than any other person he's met before. He considers her a friend - a good one - and what are married couples if not really good friends?

When Finn doesn't answer, Rey lets out a huff, her fingers still working on his lapels. "Because I'm nervous. Really nervous, actually. And I cannot for the life of me figure out why. I mean it isn't as if I've never done this before - "

"Hey," Finn takes her fidgety hands in his, smiling warmly at her when she looks up at him. "There's no reason to be nervous, okay? We just gotta go rub elbows with Snoke, offer him the painting, take our money and get the hell out. Just like we did with Lando."

Rey smiles at the mention of their mini con at the restaurant. Afterwards they ended up driving to a park and having an impromptu picnic with the lava cake they ordered. It was a really nice way to spend a few hours.

"You know, you're right. I don't know why I'm getting myself so worked up."

Convinced he's talked her out of her nervy spell, Finn pulls Rey in for a hug. His chin rests just on her shoulder, the faint scent of lemon sage coming from her hair. He makes sure to commit the smell to memory.

Ironically, standing here holding her in his arms, the only thing Finn can think of is Rey's earlier warning about not letting any beautiful women deter his focus.

That might be easier said than done.

*

The site of the casino-themed pool party looked like something Finn had only ever seen in movies. It's dark out so the large pool is lit up in a loop of neon colored lights that switch from pink to blue to purple to yellow and back again. There's a cabana tucked toward the back and a series of private changing rooms inside of the reception room where the indoor festivities are taking place.

As Finn looks around, he spots their team in various areas of the party. Poe is at the craps table, Pava is in the pool flirting with some dark haired young woman and Snap is standing with a group of equally burly men passionately discussing something amongst themselves. It's a comfort to know they're here if something goes sideways.

The feeling of Rey's shoulder bumping into his takes Finn out of his slight daze.

"So what do you wanna do first, _babe_? Hit the blackjack table or go for a dip in the jacuzzi?" The affectionate pet name makes his heart skip a beat.

 _Be cool_ , Finn reminds himself. _It's just for show_.

Finn slides his hands into the pockets of his swim shorts - because it's a pool party so they had to show up in swimwear - with a bored sigh. "Actually I was hoping we could get a drink before anything else."

Rey tugs him close as they slowly make their way to the bar. "I don't see Snoke anywhere."

"Doesn't mean he isn't here," Finn offers, adjusting the loose fitting linen breezer he was wearing. "I'm sure if we make enough noise he'll appear."

Rey silently agrees and orders them two melon balls - either she somehow knows about his secret love of fruity cocktails or it was just a lucky guess - when they arrive at the bar. They linger there for a moment, sipping their drinks and making small talk. A few men approach them, looking to see if they could tear Rey away for a dance or a private conversation. Each time she would sweetly smile, wrap her arm around Finn's waist and politely turn them down, saying she was perfectly content spending her time with her husband.

After a while, they head over to the blackjack table, ready to make aforementioned noise.

Finn hangs back with another melon ball and watches Rey lose her first couple of hands before slowly starting to build momentum, betting and winning and absolutely frustrating the hell out of the dealer. He can't help but smile into the rim of his glass as she hits twenty-one and the other players at the table cheer while the dealer narrows his eyes. It's all fun and entertaining until the moment it's decidedly not.

A large man with a shiny bald head covered in a tattoo of a snake approaches the table, a scowl etched into his face.

"'Scuse me, miss. Can I talk to you for a moment?" Rey looks over at Finn, who's already making his way over.

She nods and follows the man to the front of the cabana, Finn right behind them.

"Is there a problem?" Rey asks rather innocently.

He shrugs. "Either you're the luckiest person at this party, or you were counting cards back there."

Rey smiles at him. "Guess I'm just lucky, then."

The man - who is obviously one of Snoke's goons - doesn't seem very charmed. He gives a sort of condescending laugh before roughly grabbing Rey by the arm. Before Finn can react, Rey's fist connects with the goon's nose. He doubles over in pain, grabbing at his now grotesquely twisted nose.

Finn is... _impressed_.

"Don't ever put your hands on me again you gigantic oaf!"

The goon, who's profusely bleeding from the nose, mutters a string of expletives before standing straight and producing a gun from his waistband. He points it at Rey with a grimace on his face. Finn doesn't hesitate to step between her and the barrel of the gun.

"Out of the way, man." The goon huffs.

"Stop pointing that thing at my wife and I'll consider letting you keep all your teeth." Finn bites out.

"Big words, man, but sorry. No chance. She was stealing and my boss gave me specific instructions on how to deal with thieves. Now move."

Finn stands his ground. He definitely didn't plan on getting shot tonight but there's no way in hell he's going to let Rey get hurt.

There's a moment of thick, uncomfortable silence - despite the fact that the party doesn't seem to have been disturbed at all; even their team is no where to be found - before a man's laughter ruins it. The goon rolls his eyes and lowers the gun. Finn finally allows himself to breath.

An older gentleman dressed in a sharp charcoal colored suit emerges from the cabana behind them. Judging by the guards flanking him and his overall sleazy vibe, Finn guesses this is Mr. Snoke.

"Julius!" He says, addressing the goon. He nods towards the exit, a look of displeasure on his face. "Take a walk. Go get your face looked at."

The goon - Julius - glares once more at Finn before stalking away and dropping his gun into Snoke's hand as he does. Snoke hands the gun off to the guard to his left before sending a dazzling smile Finn and Rey's way.

"I am so sorry about him. His desperate need to impress me makes him more than a little overzealous." He approaches them, slowly. "May I invite you into the cabana for drinks? Take it as an apology. Please."

Rey's hand slips into Finn's, their fingers interlocking. She gives him a small squeeze and he knows what it means.

"Sure," Finn says. "I think we definitely need a drink or two after that."

The pair of them follow Snoke into the cabana. It's dark and decorated in bright reds and striking silvers. It's a bit gaudy for Finn's taste, but somehow seems perfect for Snoke.

After dismissing his ever-present bodyguards, Snoke takes a seat and motions for Rey and Finn to sit on the couch in front of him.

"You know," he starts, unbuttoning his suit jacket. "Julius told me he thought someone was counting cards so I told him to take care of it. Had I known it was a such a beautiful woman doing it, I would have come out to handle it myself."

Less than five minutes around this guy and Finn already hates him. He hates the way he's so openly leering at Rey, hates the way he carries himself. He thinks he will take great joy in screwing this guy out of half a million dollars.

A waiter walks by and hands all three of them glasses of what Finn thinks may be Scotch as Snoke continues talking. "I've been watching the party all night, making sure all the guests are people I would want here, and when you two walked in, I noticed you immediately. I mean such an exceptionally young attractive couple - how could I _not_ notice you?"

"Being so attractive didn't stop us from getting a gun pointed at us, though." Finn mutters into the rim of his glass. It is Scotch. He hates Scotch.

Snoke laughs. It's highly annoying. "I told you, friend, it was a just misunderstanding! I hope you understand I was just trying to protect my interests. Attractive or not, I don't like when people steal from me."

"She wasn't stealing, though." Finn makes sure to remind him. "Your guard dog was mistaken."

"Either way, it's all behind us now. I hope we can be cordial?" Snoke is talking to Finn, but very obviously looking at Rey. It's a cover and it's all fake, but Finn can't help but feel protective of her given the way this creep is ogling her. "So, you two may call me Mr. Snoke. And what may I call you?"

"Uh, this is my husband, Finn and I'm Rey." She pauses, taking the moment to set her her glass down. "Skywalker."

The name obviously means something to Snoke because he coughs on his drink, wiping at his chin with a deep chuckle.

"Despite my plastic surgeon's best efforts, I assure you, Rey, that I was not born yesterday." He leans back, narrowing his eyes at her. Finn is highly confused. "What's your _real_ last name?"

Rey leans forward, matching Snoke's intense gaze, and simply says, " _Skywalker_."

The two of them stare at each other for a few uneasy seconds before Snoke shrugs. "If you say so."

Finn does his best to not show it on his face, but clearly there's something that Rey hasn't told him. He makes a mental note to ask her about it first chance he gets.

"So why are the two of you in Monaco and, more importantly, at my party?" Snoke asks.

"Business." Finn answers curtly.

"And we're here at the party because we heard it was the place to be tonight." Rey adds. "We felt we might as well check it out."

Snoke nods, as if he's weighing the validity of their answers. "You know this party is, for all intents and purposes, open to the public. I'm hosting a party at my home tomorrow night that is probably more the scene you were looking for. I'd be delighted if you would attend."

Finn looks over at Rey who just gives a lift of her shoulder before visibly nodding toward the exit. He stands from the couch, pulling her up with him.

"We'll think about it." Finn tacks on a forced smile. "Thanks for the drinks and, you know, not shooting us. Pleasure meeting you, Mr. Snoke."

Finn can feel Snoke's eyes on their back as they leave the cabana. He waits until they are far, far away before finally exhaling.

Despite her attempts at concealing it, Finn can tell Rey's shaken up - he himself is still wired; his stomach is still in knots - so he discreetly takes her inside into one of the private changing rooms for some privacy.

"Hey," he takes both of her hands, which are still shaking. "You okay?"

She nods, still looking somewhat far away. "Yeah, I'm fine. Believe it or not, that's not the first time I've had a gun pointed at me."

Finn finds that particular thought unsettling.

"He's a lot more... _intense_ than I thought he'd be." Rey says.

"Yeah, he definitely gives off a Bond-villain vibe." Finn agrees. "We should definitely go, though. Before he tracks us down and forces us to follow him into his secret underground lair or something."

Rey laughs and it's a welcome sound. Anything he can do to ease her nerves, he'll do.

"That's probably a good idea. This party's lame anyway." Finn smiles. Nice to see she's got her humor back. "I just wanna go back to our room, take a bubble bath, order some ridiculous dessert from room service and watch a terrible movie before bed."

"That sounds _great_. Count me in."

"For the bubble bath, as well?" She's smirking at him. Finn takes his hands back. "Because I don't think the tub is large enough, but I guess we could make it work if we _really_ tried - "

Finn groans. It's obvious Rey takes much pleasure in leaving him flustered.

"You know what I meant."

"Do I, though?" She flashes him that knowing smile of hers before extending her hand. "Come on, hubby, let's get out of here."

The question of what the name _Skywalker_ means and why it apparently holds so much clout with Snoke is still on Finn's mind, but he decides it can wait. They've had a pretty wild time at the party so he'll let her off the hook and allow her to spend the rest of the night relaxing.

Finn happily laces his fingers with Rey's as they leave the changing room, not bothering to look back at Snoke's raging party behind them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so im not sure if y'all have caught on, but i'm trying to be ~cute~ and end each chapter the same way, with finn taking rey's hand and not looking back. i thought that would be a neat concept. idk. also, i promise next chapter the rating will be relevant so...yeah.


	4. four.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the deal is made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i promise i never meant for this chapter to be so ridiculously long but things...got way out of hand. anyhow, i hope you all enjoy it! :))

When they finally got up to their room, Rey decided to skip the bubble bath in favor of a quick shower. Finn waited patiently for his turn, flipping through stations on the television that were all in French while trying hard not to grin at the fact that apparently Rey sings - very well, he might add - in the shower.

While he's showering, Rey takes it upon herself to order a giant sundae for the two of them from room service along with some random movie OnDemand that neither one of them has ever heard off. After he comes out of the bathroom, dressed, they share the sundae and crack jokes at the ridiculous movie she's picked.

Coincidentally, a scene comes up halfway through the film where the two main characters are trapped in a room with a single bed and spend half the scene arguing over whether or not to share the bed. It's an ironic reminder that the two of them haven't discussed their own sleeping arrangements.

"Well," Rey flicks off the television with a yawn. "That is enough of that. I don't know about you but it is way past my bedtime."

Finn watches her dig through her small carry-on and pull out what looks to be the sort of case one might keep a retainer in. Sure enough, she pulls one out and pops it into her mouth.

"You wear a retainer?" He asks, more out of amused curiosity than anything.

Rey nods excitedly, sitting on the edge of the bed. "I was with this one foster family for, like, three and half years. Nicest people you could ever meet. They paid for my braces, so I am forever grateful to them."

Finn stands from his chair. "Three and half years is a long time. Can I ask why they didn’t adopt you?"

"I think after three and half long years they finally realized that they couldn't 'fix me'. I was thirteen, fourteen years old at the time. All the homes I had been in up until that point pretty much ruined me. I was beyond damaged goods by then." Rey says it with a sadness that doesn't go unnoticed by him. She quickly perks back up again, though, as she shuffles into bed and under the thick duvet. "What about you? Any families almost adopt you?"

"No, every family I was with was always short-lived, so I was in practically in a boys' home up until I graduated high school. I had a couple of athletic scholarships so I bolted out of there and into college first chance I got."

"What sport did you play?" Rey asks, her retainer giving her a slight lisp. It's cute.

Finn grins. "Baseball. Catcher. And not to brag, but I was kind of a big deal."

Rey snorts, scrunching her nose up at him. “Okay _Mr. Big Deal_."

“This is going to become a thing now isn’t it?” Finn asks with a playful wince.

"Oh, definitely." She pauses a moment before glancing to the empty spot beside her. “So are you going to sleep here with me or...?"

“Yes? I mean that's what I had planned on doing." If Finn didn’t know any better, he would definitely say he feels a sort of hesitation from Rey. The last thing he wants to do is make her uncomfortable and if sharing a bed makes her feel that way, he’ll gladly take the sofa. “Unless you wanted the bed to yourself?”

“No, no, it’s fine.” She says, quickly. Almost _too_ quickly. The thing about Rey, Finn's noticed, is that even though she carries herself with the sort of toughness that comes from being a kid in the system, there are moments where she softens and he can just make out the vulnerable bits of her. This would be one of those times. “I just thought you wouldn’t want to sleep in the same bed, that’s all.”

Finn shrugs. "I'm fine with it if you are."

There's another moment of pause so brief if he weren't paying attention he would've missed it before Rey finally nods. With that, Finn slides into the vacant side of the bed.

The great thing about their ridiculously extravagant hotel room is that it came with a ridiculously large bed. In fact, it was big enough to where he could comfortably sleep on one side and she could sleep on the other and they wouldn't even be touching one another.

And things were fine for what felt like was a couple of hours. Finn drifted peacefully off to sleep on his side of the bed with Rey's soft snoring serving as a sort of background noise. He even began to dream - something he admittedly doesn't do very often - until he felt a leg brush against his. Maybe it was instinctual or a knee-jerk reaction, but the slight contact causes Finn to automatically reach out and pull Rey flush against him. She's pleasantly warm and her hair smells like lemon sage and tickles his nose as he nuzzles it. He's instantly ten times more comfortable.

Finn is still half asleep but he thinks he hears Rey mutter a faint, _"g'night"_ to which he replies by hugging her tighter.

*

They next morning, Finn wakes up alone. He wonders if last night was a dream, if he really stayed on his side of the bed the whole night and his brain simply fabricated the feeling of sleeping with Rey tucked firmly in his arms. There's a note on the pillow next to him and, after reading it, no. Last night was not a dream.

_Finn,_

_I've gone to take care of some stuff with Pava. I'll be back before we have to get ready for the party tonight. If you don't want to spend the day alone, try calling Poe. He tells bad jokes but he's fun to be around._

_Oh, and next time we spoon, can I be the bigger one?_

_Rey xx_

Finn spends the next five minutes grinning at a piece of paper.

*

After a shower and a meal, Finn decides to follow Rey's advice and call Poe. He barely knows the guy besides the fact that he works at a pawnshop and can apparently fly airplanes, but no better time than the present to get to know someone, right?

The two of them decide to meet outside of Finn's hotel and spend a few hours in a nearby sports lounge. The place is dark and there are various games on the numerous televisions mounted on the wall. Finn recognizes some of the sports - soccer, tennis and cricket, he thinks - but none of the actual teams. Still, he and Poe sit in front of one of the TVs and stare at it, at least pretending to care what's happening in the game.

"So," Poe starts. "You enjoying your time in Monaco?"

Finn hates awkward small talk. "Well it's only been a day and half but," he sighs. "It's been okay. The food here is good and the city itself is beautiful - "

"Okay, can we please skip the small talk so I can ask you something I have been dying to ever since we boarded the plane?" Poe tilts his head curiously as Finn nods. "Seriously, how _do_ you know Rey? Like are you an old boyfriend or a classmate or something?"

Finn is actually amused by Poe's random question. "Nope. I tried to steal her wallet, she caught me, we talked, she came to my job the next day and now we're here."

Poe eyes him suspiciously. It reminds Finn of the way an older sibling might look at their younger sibling's significant other.

They sit in silence for a few minutes before Finn's curiosity gets the better of him. "Can I ask why you asked that?"

Poe sighs and shrugs. "It's just - Rey doesn't have a lot of friends. She has a hard time opening up to people, trusting them, you know? I mean, like, I've known her for years and she's met my entire family yet I couldn't even tell you her parents' names, let alone what they look like."

Well, that's interesting. Judging by his words, it seems that Poe still thinks Rey's parents are alive, which isn't right at all. It makes the fact that Finn knows what he knows about her all the more special.

"And then you come along," Poe continues. "And, let me tell you, I've never seen her face light up like it does when you're around. Never. Not even when she managed to steal a bunch of MacBooks and cashed out, like, ten grand for them." Poe sniffs and raises the tall class of lemonade he ordered to his lips. "That's why I figured you must be a childhood friend or something. She seems to open up like a flower in bloom when she's around you."

"Maybe she's just really committed to this 'husband and wife' act we have to keep up." Finn muses, because that theory is easier for him to swallow than the possibility that he and Rey somehow have a deeper connection than she does with someone she's known for years.

Poe shakes his head with a lopsided smile. "No, man, believe me. That's not an act. She likes you. As in, _like-like_." He punctuates his sentence with a wink.

Finn worries at his bottom lip as he turns back to the soccer match. He watches the team in the red and white jerseys score on the team in the dark blue jerseys, all while trying not to think about the possibility that Rey could _like-like_ him.

*

When Finn returns to the hotel room, he's just a little alarmed to hear water running from inside the bathroom. He sees Rey's shoes - her trainers, not those crazy heels - tossed across the room and guesses she must have come back before him.

"Finn - and I'm assuming it's you because you're the only one with a room key - don't come in here unless you want to see me shave my legs!" Rey's voice echoes from inside the bathroom. "Which if you do, I have _seriously_ misjudged your character."

Finn has to bite back a smile.

"Don't worry, I'll let you shave in peace." Finn calls back, walking over to where his suitcases were.

"So did you hang out with Poe like I suggested?" He hears her ask.

He nods even though she can't see. "Yeah, he's a cool guy. He even invited me to watch his band play when we get back to the states."

"Yeah, he's in a jazz band, oddly enough. He plays the saxophone. He's actually really good. We should go see him together. You know, if you want to."

Finn is just about to respond - was that her _asking him out_? - when he notices her bag strewn across the bed. Normally he wouldn't care about something like that but the contents of the bag are falling out. The night he lifted her wallet, she had no sort of formal ID besides her library card yet he can clearly see a driver's license here now.

He knows he shouldn't - that's her stuff; it would be wrong to just riffle through it - but he's curious. After a second of internal struggle, Finn picks up the small pile of stuff. There are some credit cards, her passport, a photo of man and a young girl that looks a lot like her, and the license. He frowns at the name on the ID. Rey Skywalker. Either this is a fake ID or that is her _real_ name, which, judging by Snoke's reaction the previous night, means _something_ , he just doesn't know what.

Just to be thorough, Finn checks her passport and the credit cards. They all say Rey Skywalker. He doubts they're all fake but -

"Hey," Finn startles at Rey's voice. She's standing in the doorway, arms folded over her chest - she's wearing just a sports bra and a pair of shorts but he'll deal with _that_ particular situation later - looking at him with a handful of her things. "Find what you were looking for?"

Finn huffs out a nervous laugh. "Sorry, I just - the pickpocket in me got curious."

"About?"

Well. Better now than never.

"Last night you said your last name was Skywalker and that clearly meant something to Snoke. I just wanted to know what that was."

"It's just a name, Finn." Rey says, nonchalantly.

"A name that requires a fake license, a passport and credit cards?" Finn asks, not quite believing her. "You said you would never lie to me, remember? And I feel like you're keeping something that's important from me."

For the first time since he's met her, Rey looks upset with him. She tries to disguise it with a forced smile but Finn can still see she's irritated.

"It's getting late. We should start getting ready for the party." She says before disappearing into the bathroom again.

Finn tosses her stuff back on the bed with a sigh. Probably not the best thing to have a small spat before they're supposed to show up at Snoke's and act all lovey-dovey, but - as one of his foster moms used to say - if there weren't any bumps in the road, it wouldn't be any fun to drive down.

*

The car ride to Snoke's party is awkwardly silent.

There are a lot of things Finn would like to say to her - and ninety-percent of them have to do with the dress she's wearing because _wow_ \- but Rey won't even look at him. She spends the first part of their ride staring out the window at the setting sun.

Finn knows he was wrong to go through her things, but he hardly thinks it warrants the silent treatment.

"Check your suit pocket." Her voice cuts through the thick silence in the car and, honestly, he's just glad she's spoken.

A few pats of his pockets - how did he not notice this? - and Finn pulls a bracelet out of his breast pocket. The bracelet was beaded, strung together on a thin silver string. The beads were all black except for two gold ones opposite each other. It was quite a nice piece of jewelry.

"I got that for you when I was out today." Rey says, still looking out of the window. "I didn't even steal it. Paid for it with my own money and everything so - yeah. I thought you might like it."

"Thank you, Rey. This is really nice." Finn holds it between his fingers, reluctant to slip it on. "Now I feel kind of bad I didn't get you anything."

Rey lets out a barely audible laugh and finally looks at him. She slides across the seat, getting just close enough for her to lay her hand on his knee.

"Finn I'm sorry for how I reacted back in the room but, for now, can you just trust me on this?"

"Just - " Finn sighs and slips on the bracelet. "Just promise me whatever you're hiding isn't something that's going to put us in danger."

"Promise." Rey gives his knee a squeeze with a smile. "Now that we're done with this little mini-cold war, I feel like I can finally tell you what I have been wanting to since we left the hotel. Which is that you look amazing, Finn."

Finn suddenly feels quite confident under her appreciative gaze. His hands come up to straighten his bowtie, even though it isn't even askew.

"Seriously," she continues. "You look like you stepped out of a GQ spread."

"I appreciate the kind words but I'm pretty sure no one is even gonna be looking at me once they see you." Finn looks her up and down, allowing his gaze to linger longer than perhaps he should have. "You look absolutely stunning, Rey. Snoke just may have a heart attack once he sees you."

"We can only hope. It would sure make this job a lot easier." She mutters inwardly, much to his amusement. "And you can't say that no one is going to be looking at you because I will. All night. Because you look so darn handsome."

Finn is suddenly glad the sun has set and there isn't much light filtering through the windows. He doesn't know if he'd want Rey to see him blushing like he is.

Out of nowhere, the partition separating the front and backseat lowers and Finn can just make out the side of Poe's smirking face.

"Hey, you two know this thing isn't soundproof, right? I can totally hear this little indirect flirt-fest you're having. Which, is very cute by the way, but - " Rey rolls her eyes and starts to roll up the partition on him. " _Hey_! Don't cut me off! Rey, you are being _so_ rude right now - "

Rey grins as the partition shuts completely. "Anyway, Pava managed to get her hands on the guest list so I think we should go over it that way we can really look like we belong."

Finn nods in agreement as Rey pulls her phone from her clutch and starts to show him photos of all different sorts of people. Tonight was an important part of the con; it was the night they were going to offer the painting to Snoke. The least they look like Finn and Rey, orphans turned con artists and more like Finn and Rey, stupidly rich socialites with money and priceless paintings to burn, the better.

*

Snoke's house - mansion, really - is just as extravagantly gaudy as Finn expected it to be. The outside is beautiful, as are most buildings in Monaco, but the inside is...interesting.

The interior is decorated much like the cabana at the pool party was. The ivory walls contrast with the deep red rugs that run across the hardwood floors and the black piping on various details in the home. Everything is an obvious flex of his wealth, from the paintings lining the walls to the ceramic sculptures dotting certain areas.

During the tour of the home - not lead by Snoke, but by a member of his home's staff - Finn had trouble not audibly laughing whenever Rey would lean in and whisper some snide comment about whatever ridiculous thing they were being shown. By the time they reached the entertaining room - which was literally just a huge room with tables of food - Finn was more than relieved that the tour was over. One more joke from Rey and he was going to lose it. Loudly.

"Mister Snoke will be joining you all in a moment. For now, please help yourself to the aperitifs and hors d'oeuvres."

Finn waits for the group they were in to disperse and leave he and Rey alone before he rolls his eyes.

" _Aperitifs and hors d'oeuvres_ ," Finn scoffs. "Not sure this could get any more pretentious."

Rey snorts, handing him a flute of champagne. "Be careful what you wish for. Snoke just may descend down the staircase in a solid gold suit."

Finn takes a big swig. He's going to need quite a bit of alcohol to get through this. "Now _that_ would be something to see."

The two of them chuckle amongst themselves before being noticeably joined by a third party. Finn looks over Rey's shoulder and sees a tall gentleman grinning at the two of them. His dark orange hair is gelled and brushed close to his head. His suit is a dark grey and his teeth are bared, something like a shark's. Finn gets a really... _strange_ vibe from him.

"Well _hell-o_ there." He takes - literally, just grabs - Rey's hand and presses a kiss to the back of it. "Armitage Hux. You must be Rey Skywalker. Snoke told me you were a looker but I must say he undersold your beauty."

Rey looks just about ready to punch this Hux guy in the face.

"And you must be her husband, Finn." Hux says as he looks at Finn. Rich people are so weird. "While I would love for this to be a social chat, Snoke actually sent me to fetch the two of you. He would like to speak to you before dinner gets started."

"Speak to us about what?" Finn asks.

Hux grins. "Business."

Finn sighs, finishing off his champagne. It would seem Snoke's sent yet another one of his infinite number of lackeys to pick them up.

Hux silently leads them down a long hallway towards the back of the house. Finn would have liked to inquire more about what exactly Snoke wanted but he got the distinct feeling his questions would not have been answered.

Hux stops in front a room with large double doors. He pushes them open and when the three of them walk in, Snoke is standing near a large desk doing his best to smile with a cigar in between his teeth. Finn assumes this is his study.

"Well, if it isn't my two favorite tourists!" Snoke puts his cigar out in a nearby ashtray. His arms are open as he approaches Rey and places a kiss on her cheek before turning to Finn to give his hand a strong shake. "Sorry to pull you from the party but something has been weighing on my mind ever since last night and I just had to get it out of the way before dinner."

Finn is aware of the way Hux is standing - one might even say blocking - by the door. It's making him a tad uneasy.

"Forgive me if I'm being presumptuous, but for you of all people to show up at my party, Rey, I have to assume you're here about my paintings."

Rey bristles at his words. "You are correct in your presumption. You've been asking for the last piece of the collection you have and Finn and I happen to have it."

Hux snorts from behind them. He's joined them now, apparently not content to stand on the sidelines for this conversation. "Impossible. Last I heard it was in a storage facility in some unknown city - D'Qar or something - "

"Well _you_ heard wrong." Finn interrupts, enjoying the way it makes Hux scowl. "It's in a safe in Monaco. Our safe, to be specific."

Just as Hux opens his mouth, Snoke lifts a hand to silence him. "How much do you want for it?"

"Five hundred thousand dollars." Rey says resolutely.

"Half a million dollars?" Hux balks, turning to Snoke with an incredulous look. "You cannot _seriously_ be considering - "

Snoke cracks the smallest of smiles. "Fine. I can have the money wired to you as soon as I get the painting."

Hux walks up to Snoke, looking absolutely bewildered. "Are you really just going to trust that they have the genuine article? I mean they barely look old enough to drink, let alone own a priceless painting - "

"Yes, because we would really be dumb enough to come all this way just to try and cheat this man out of half a million dollars." Finn scoffs. His heart is beating hard in his chest. This is exhilarating. "Mr. Snoke are we conducting business with you or your associate here?"

"Armitage," Snoke sighs. "Make yourself useful and go check on the other guests."

After a moment of seething, Hux stomps his foot like a child throwing a temper tantrum and storms out of the study. Finn doesn't even hold back his smile.

"Sometimes I swear I'm surrounded by the inept." Snoke says. "Anyhow, I am still willing to do business if you are."

Rey straightens and hooks her arm through Finn's. "Our associate can have the painting here by midnight."

Snoke grins. It's unsettling. "And I can have the money to you by twelve-o-one." He offers his hand to the both of them. Finn shakes it, perhaps harder than he needed to. "Now, I have to go freshen up a bit before dinner, but I'll see you downstairs in a moment, yes?"

"Of course." Finn says. "Pleasure doing business."

When the three of them exit the study, Snoke goes left, disappearing down a far away hallway. Finn starts to go right, back the way they came, when Rey takes off into one of the rooms down the hall.

" _Rey_!" Finn harshly whispers. The last thing he thinks they should be doing is a little freelance exploring. Snoke seems the type to have a room full of highly illegal things that he would _not_ want just anyone to stumble upon.

Finn silently curses as he follows Rey into a room that contains a series of paintings hung on the walls. He assumes this is the collection Snoke is so intent on completing. And Finn thinks he can understand why.

The paintings are beautiful. Each holding more sadness than the previous one. Finn doesn't know anything about the artist, but they must have been deeply conflicted. It's almost as if they wanted to paint something happy, was desperate to paint something joyous, but the pain still made its way into each brush stroke. Even the scribbled 'LS' on the bottom left hand corner of each canvas seems sorrowfully signed.

"Wow, these are _amazing_." Finn mutters. His focus from the paintings is shifted when Rey quickly moves from beside him. She turns and heads out of the room. If he didn't know any better, he'd say she was upset.

He follows her out of the art room and into what looks to be a library. He closes the door behind them, least someone walk by and see them.

"Hey, you okay?" Finn asks carefully approaching her, his hands hovering over her folded arms.

Rey nods with a teary smile. "Yeah, I just - I guess art makes me emotional. Go figure."

Finn doesn't believe her. Not even a little bit. Something is bothering her - has been bothering her - and she doesn't want to say. He noticed it during their conversation with Snoke, which leaves him a bit puzzled. They got what they wanted, why would she be upset about that?

Before he can press the issue, she moves out of his grasp and starts to explore the many shelves of books.

"Why does Snoke have a library in his house?" Rey wonders aloud. "Seriously, who needs a giant library in their home?"

Finn chuckles, grabbing one of the books off of the shelves. He reads the spine with a satisfied grin. It's just as he suspected. "These are all rare copies of classics, I think. Just another chance for him to flaunt the fact that he's rich, I guess."

Rey rolls her eyes. "Ugh, I hate this guy so much. I mean I'm glad he's about to pay us a crazy amount of money, but still. He's the worst."

Finn is about to agree when he hears what are most definitely footsteps and voices approaching. He returns the book and walks over to Rey.

"Shit, I think people are coming. And from the sound of it they are most likely big people that probably have guns and will shoot us for snooping."

Rey thinks for a moment before grabbing Finn's hands and placing them on her waist. She throws her arms around his neck and he thinks he knows where this is going.

"Kiss me before they come in."

" _What_?"

"Intimacy makes people uncomfortable. They catch us kissing they won't even care to ask what we were doing in here because that question will have already been answered. They'll assume we were just trying to fool around."

The door handle shakes and Finn's fingers flex on her hips. He sort of pictured this happening differently but, hey. C'est la vie.

Just as he leans in, Rey pulls back with a smirk Finn intends on kissing right off her lips.

"And make it believable."

Before the door swings open, Finn presses his lips against Rey's. It's a feeling he can feel all the way down in his toes, the electricity that shoots through his body. His hand comes up to the nape of her neck, his fingers sliding through her hair. He pulls her closer because, despite the fact that they're already pressed snugly against each other, he needs her to be closer somehow. She tilts her head slightly, parting her lips to allow his tongue to slide into her mouth, making soft little sounds of agreement as he does.

Well. Finn would say this kiss certainly _feels_ believable.

Whomever's just walked in clears their throat and Rey pulls away from him. She blinks at him, seemingly unaware - or unconcerned, maybe - of the fact that they've been joined.

"Uh, you two can't be in here." A deep voice says to them.

Finn turns to them, letting out sheepish laugh. "Sorry guys. Guess me and the missus should slow down on the champagne. Makes us act like teenagers."

"Right. Still gonna have to ask you to leave."

Finn nods, reaching down to weave his fingers with Rey's. She leans into him as they walk out and when he looks at her, he can't help but smirk. He knows that look on her face.

"So was that believable enough for you?"

"Quite."

*

Dinner at Snoke's went by agonizingly slow, but it wasn't too painful.

Finn was pleasantly surprised at his ability to keep up meaningful conversation with these people, most of whom were shady rich types much like Snoke himself. He talked with them about music, sports - watching that match at that sports lounge with Poe earlier really came in handy - and just life in general. He and Rey were able to weave together a whole faux life for themselves during the party. They make quite the conning pair.

After long goodbyes - Finn is pretty sure he made good friends with a German drug lord tonight - Poe arrived to pick them up and they rode back to their hotel in silence much like they did on the way there. After making the call to Snap to tell him to deliver the fake painting to Snoke's mansion by midnight, Rey rested her head on Finn's shoulder. She wasn't quite asleep, yet not quite up for anymore socializing. Finn was content to let her rest and hold her hand for the entire ride.

When they finally get back to their hotel, the lift ride up to their room is silent, too. There's a sort of tension between them Finn can't quite put his finger on. It isn't hostile tension nor is it awkward. It's just... _there_. And it stays there even as they enter their room and decide to go stand out on the balcony for a while.

With the wind slightly whipping about, it's chilly out so Finn shrugs off his suit jacket and carefully drapes it over Rey's bare shoulders without a second thought. She tightens it around her shoulders, giving him a thankful grin as she does.

Finn stares at her for a long moment. The lights of the city in front of them give her this glow and makes her look almost ethereal - or rather, _more_ ethereal than she normally looks. It makes it sort of hard not to stare.

"You know," she starts, leaning against the metal railing. "You have got to stop doing that."

"Doing what?" Finn asks innocently even though he knows full well what she's talking about.

"Looking at me like I'm something special. Like you're just in awe of everything that's going on."

Finn shrugs, mimicking her position against the railing. "Well can you blame me? I'm in a beautiful city with a beautiful woman - "

"Oh so now I'm a beautiful woman?"

"You've always been a beautiful woman, Rey. I mean that's half the reason I decided to try and lift your wallet that night." Finn wets his lips. "Cause I thought you and your three buns were just so darn cute."

Rey turns away, a definite blush on her cheeks.

There's always been this underlying flirtatiousness to their conversations, but Finn has never been so outright about it before. He'll blame it on the incredible dress she's wearing and the even more incredible wine he's had tonight.

She turns back to him after a moment, her head tilted curiously. "And is this you talking or your cover?"

"Me. Always me."

"And back at Snoke's, was that you too?"

"Well _you_ were the one who asked me to kiss you - "

"Yeah, to save our arses not because I wanted to kiss you." Finn raises an eyebrow, almost as a silent reminder that she most definitely kissed him with just as much passion as he kissed her. "Oh, shut up."

Finn sighs and looks back over the railing. It'll be easier to say what's on his mind if he's looking at the city lights rather than her.

"It _was_ me, though." He steels himself and glances over at her. "Back in the library, that wasn't Finn, your fake husband. That was Finn, guy who tried to steal your wallet."

Rey nods, pursing her lips. "It sure was some kiss, though. I haven't been kissed like that since - come to think of it, I don't think I've ever been kissed like that." She steps over closer to him, turning so they're completely facing one another. He thinks he knows what the tension is now. It's sexual. "Kiss me like that again."

And who is Finn to say no to a request like that?

He kisses her slow, meaningfully this time since there are no guards to try and dupe. She tastes like the cinnamon pastries they had for dessert and the expensive wine she barely had half a glass of. Finn finds himself wanting desperately to know what other parts of her taste like.

He gets his wish when she's sprawled out on the mattress with one of her legs hooked over his shoulder and his head between her thighs. Finn doesn't stop lapping up every bit of her until his name has died on her lips and turned into breathy moans, enjoying the way she's completely come undone beneath him.

Finn thinks he likes Rey this way. When the small cracks in her tough-act armor become just large enough for him to see the vulnerable side of her. He knows why she does it. Being vulnerable isn't necessarily a good trait to have when you're being shuffled from home to home, never having anywhere - or  _anyone_ \- to call your own. Opening yourself up often led to a lot of hurt, but right here and now, Finn can see Rey's letting down her walls. She's letting herself be open and unguarded with him and he isn't going to take that for granted.

When he resurfaces, he comes up to press a long kiss to her lips.

"I'm so glad I met you." Finn says.

Rey reaches up and traces over his lips with her fingertips. It's kind of a sweet moment until she scrunches her nose at him. "Is that your idea of dirty talk or something?"

Finn playfully rolls his eyes. "I try and be sentimental with you and you _tease me_ about it?" He takes the break in action to rifle through the nightstand next to the bed. He remembers seeing the little foiled packages - because it would seem that fancy hotels keep assortments of condoms in their nightstands - the other day when he was searching for the TV remote.

"Don't get me wrong, I like that you're so gentlemanly. It's one of the many reasons I like you so much."

"I'm not always gentlemanly, you know." Having found an appropriate condom and slid it on, Finn crawls back over to Rey, bracketing her with his arms. "Sometimes I'm... _caveman-ish_."

Rey giggles and Finn's only a little hurt. "Okay, whatever you say, Mr. Big Deal."

Finn raises an eyebrow. He is _absolutely_ going to take that as a challenge. Before he can lean down and attach his lips to a particularly tantalizing spot on her neck, Rey manages to flip them over. She straddles him with a devious grin.

"Sorry," she says with a shrug. "I like being on top."

"Anyone ever tell you that you just might have control issues?" Finn says, hands finding her hips to better position her.

"Maybe like one or two people, but - " her words trail off as she slowly sinks down on top of him. Rey waits a moment, bracing her hands against his chest before starting to rock her hips. "Sorry, I totally just lost my train of thought."

"Doesn't matter," he manages to grit out. "Just - _fuck_ , keep doing that."

It takes a minute before Finn's able to match her rhythm but once he does, it's downright euphoric. His grip on her waist is bruising - he's sure he's going to leave fingerprint-shaped marks - but his brain isn't able to comprehend much aside from how good she feels around him.

Finn lets her ride him until he can feel a delightful heat building in his lower abdomen. He flips them over, which earns a tiny whine from Rey he drowns out by covering her mouth with his.

After her lips, Finn gets his mouth on any part of her body he can get to; her jaw, her neck, her breasts - _anything_. He slides a hand between their joined bodies, his fingers applying just the right amount of pressure against the little bundle of nerves between her legs.

Rey's hands reach for the only part of his body she can get ahold of. She clutches on to his shoulder blades, arching into him as she pants and moans beneath him. She repeats his name like a sacred mantra - _Finn, Finn, Finn_ \- the closer to the edge she gets. He doesn't think he's ever loved hearing his own name more than he does right now.

Finn kisses her through her orgasm, sucks at her bottom lip until he comes, as well, shortly after she does. He takes a moment to catch his breath before he pulls out of her, discarding the condom as he does.

When he rolls back over to lay beside her, he presses kisses to her shoulder and pushes away the strands of hair that have stuck to her forehead.

"Well that wasn't all that gentlemanly." Rey says with a coy grin. "I _might_ even call that caveman-ish."

"Told ya." Finn replies with a wink. His hand grazes over the dips of her hips with his thumb, frowning at the reddening skin. "I am sorry about this, though. Should've been more careful."

Rey folds her hand over his. "Don't be. It felt really good. You don't ever have to apologize for making me feel good."

Finn sits up on his elbow in order to kiss her - because he doesn't think he'll _ever_ tire of kissing her. When he pulls away, her post-coital glow diminishes as she suddenly looks very serious.

"What's wrong?" He asks.

Rey pulls the duvet over herself and sits up. "I have to tell you something. About the paintings." She takes a deep breath before continuing. "My father painted them. That's what I've been keeping from you."

That makes Finn sits up as well. "What?"

"His name was Luke Skywalker and those four paintings are the _only_ pieces by him that were ever released. And even then, they were only released  _after_ he died. They're highly coveted and - _that's_ why the name Skywalker meant something to Snoke. And I'm also pretty sure that's the only reason he accepted our offer. I'm my dad's only child so it makes sense that I would be in possession of the last painting."

"Rey, why didn't you tell me this sooner?"

"I don't know, Finn. I feel like a horrible daughter for trying to profit off of my dead dad and I didn't want you to find out and think less of me."

Finn runs his fingertips up and down her spine, clicking his tongue at her. "Short of murder, there's nothing you could do that would make me think less of you. And even then I'd probably _still_ testify in your favor."

Rey laughs and it fills Finn's chest with warmth. He really, _really_ likes this girl. A lot.

(There's a four letter word on the tip of his tongue that starts with a capital L that he thinks may more accurately describe his feelings but even he's not brave enough to say that to her. Yet.)

A series of beeps coming from the tablet on top of the nightstand interrupts their moment. Rey opens it, tapping at the screen with a huge grin on her face.

"That was Snap. The painting has been delivered which means - " she turns the tablet toward him. "There's our money!"

Finn takes the tablet from her. Just seeing $500,000USD on the screen makes his heart skip a beat. A good chunk of that is his. Wow.

"So tomorrow morning we are getting the hell out of here before Snoke realizes the painting is fake and comes to scoop our brains out with a diamond-encrusted spoon." Finn sincerely hopes that does _not_ happen. Though he wouldn't put it past Snoke. "In the meantime, however..."

Finn watches with great interest as Rey slides out of bed.

"I think I need a shower." She holds out her hand, wiggling her fingers at him. "Care to join? Or would you rather prefer staring at that tablet all night?"

Finn tosses the tablet aside - because half a million dollars is cool but a shower with Rey sounds infinitely more fun - and takes her hand without a glance back.


	5. five.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> take all the loose ends and tie them tight.

Finn thinks if he were cursed to spend every morning of his life like he's spending this one, that wouldn't be very much of a curse at all.

He and Rey are still curled up in bed together just talking. They've bounced around from deep subjects like what little Rey can remember of her father to lighter things like Finn's irrational fear of ducks. They talk about everything and they talk about nothing and it isn't at all a terrible way to waste a morning.

He will admit, once the night wound down and they both actually tried to sleep instead of trying to find new ways to tempt one another into fooling around, Finn worried their relationship might change for the worse. He worried that when they woke the next morning, Rey would realize she didn't feel for him as strongly as he felt for her and she'd brush off their night as a 'one time thing'. So to say he's relieved she's reacted the exact opposite is more than an understatement.

There's something sort of special about the connection the pair of them share. Sure, Finn has connected with people before, but not in the way he has with Rey. It's more than just a physical attraction to one another; it’s even more than them sharing similar life experiences. It's – it's that she's known his authentic self since the moment she first met him. He didn't have to lie about how he grew up or his inclination for thievery – Rey has always known Finn for Finn. And that's something he's rarely been able to share with another person.

Rey drums her fingertips against his chest to get his attention. When he looks over at her, she looks somewhat concerned.

"Hey, you alright?" She asks, hand still caressing his chest. "You looked really deep in thought just now. Do you want to talk about whatever's on your mind?"

"I was just thinking about last night." Finn says with a small lift of his shoulder. "Y'know, about what it meant for us."

Rey goes silent and it makes Finn a bit anxious. He's sure the feelings he has for her are mutually felt but there's still a chance she isn't necessarily as into him as he is into her. It would hurt if she weren't, but he thinks he could handle it. Maybe.

"Listen Rey, before you say anything, I want you to know something." Finn sits up on his elbow, intent on at least letting her know how he feels before she makes any final decisions about their relationship. "I like you. A lot. I think that we get on really well and that maybe once this is all over and we're back home, we should give us a try. I mean it's fine if you don't want to but - I feel like our connection is too special to write off."

"Truthfully, Finn, last night was fantastic. And not just because of the sex, which was admittedly pretty damn good, but – “ Rey pauses, face scrunching as she tries to find the proper words to express herself. “It was fantastic because everything that happened last night, everything I did, I did with you. I normally don't let people get that close to me because of my own hang-ups or whatever, but for some reason I not only let you get close but I wanted you to get close. I actually want to tell you things about myself and spend time with you and learn everything there is to know about you, so – yeah, I guess I realized last night that I actually like you quite a bit. Which sort of scares me, if I’m being honest. I’m not used to having good things in my life for very long and you, Finn, are a  _very_  good thing in my life right now.”

Finn can understand where she’s coming from. With the way they grew up – her even more so than him – happiness was something of a temporary concept. The short times spent in wonderful foster homes with wonderful families living wonderful lives were, well, wonderful, but always temporary. Those wonderful times always ended and were replaced by a more familiar sense of loneliness, of struggle. So Finn can understand her fear of the unknown, of if this thing between them will have a chance to flourish or just be yet another  _wonderful_  thing that ends up being temporary.

“If it makes you feel any better, I'm scared, too.” Finn confesses. “My life has always been this repetitive, dull routine and then one day you come storming in and – it's like for the first time ever I can see myself having more. More of what, I'm not sure, but I just know that I want it and I want you.”

Rey grins - she is downright radiant sometimes - and it stirs butterflies in Finn's stomach. He is so ridiculously head-over-heels for this wonderful girl.

"Now, pesky confessions of romantic feelings aside," she says sliding out of bed and extending her hand to him. "Would you like to go get breakfast? Or brunch? Whatever's appropriate at this hour."

Finn follows her lead, happily taking her hand. "Of course I would."

"Or maybe we should just order room service," Rey stands in front of him, her arms slung loosely around his neck and a mischievous grin on her face. "That way we can eat and immediately get back to bed."

Before Finn can respond - there's a double entendre there just  _waiting_  to be pointed out - there's a knock at their door. It sounds loud and angry and something about it feels ominous.

"Who could that be?" He asks. Rey shrugs, tossing on a pair of pajama bottoms and handing him a shirt.

"The team are the only ones that know we're staying here and they know to call before they show up."

When the knocking persists, Finn decides he should be the one to open the door. Easier that way to keep Rey out of harm's way, if whomever on the other side of the door wanted to cause harm.

Finn approaches the door, hand hovering over the knob. Before he can open it, though, it swings open itself and sends him tumbling backwards into Rey, almost knocking her over.

The two men enter the room slowly, as if they hadn't technically just broken in. Finn recognizes the larger of the two of them. The bandage across his grotesquely colored nose was a dead give away.

"Yeah, so, we actually had a key the whole time. Nigel just thought we should be polite and try knocking first." Julius, the goon from the pool party, says with a sinister looking grin.

The smaller one, who Finn assumes is Nigel, shrugs and paces over to stand behind them. So they're kind of trapped between two burly guys who most likely are here with very bad intentions. Fantastic.

"So," Julius starts, casually removing a gun from his waistband. "Boss sent us to come and pick you two up. He wants to have a chat."

Rey steps out from behind Finn in order to make herself more visible. "I'm afraid we're going to have to politely decline the offer. But it was nice of you to stop by anyway. Gave us a chance to check out that nicely healing nose of yours."

Julius doesn't look at all amused at the subtle reminder of how exactly his nose ended up broken.

"You know, the only reason we're being so  _cordial_  is because Snoke has this weird fascination with you two. If it were up to me I'd just knock you out and drag you back to the mansion." Finn is suddenly very glad things are not up to him. Julius sighs wearily before continuing, "Now follow us quietly and this'll all go smoothly."

Finn looks over at Rey who is giving him the 'like hell I'm going with him' look. He takes hold of her hand with a nod. Guess that settles it. They're not going anywhere. Not willingly, at least.

"Really guys? You're gonna be difficult when we're trying so hard to be nice to you?" He shakes his head before turning his attention to Nigel. "You take him and I'll handle Little Miss Nose Breaker."

Before Finn can react - there is  _no way_  he's going to let this meathead lay a finger on Rey - he feels the butt of a gun smash against the back of his head and he's rendered completely useless.

*

When Finn comes to, he's aware of three things: he's tied to a chair, his head really hurts, and judging by the fact Rey is also tied to a chair next to him with Snoke standing before them both, they're in deep shit.

"He woke up first!" Snoke announces with a clap of his hands. He turns to the two goons flanking him with that stupid grin of his. "You were right, Nigel. Apologies for doubting you I was just so sure Rey would wake up first. Maybe you hit her too hard, Julius. Which, I'm still upset about, by the way. I told you not to hurt them. Especially her."

Finn turns his head as far as he can and sees Rey slumped over. His heart drops to his stomach.

Snoke loses his grin as he nods over to Rey. The other goon, Nigel, walks over to her and pats her a few times on the face until she wakes up.

"Great!" Snoke claps again. "Now that the children have woken from their naps, we can begin the festivities! Do me a favor Nigel and cut them loose."

He does as he's asked, taking a knife and slicing through both Finn and Rey's restraints. Snoke smiles, taking a seat on the hideously upholstered couch in front of them.

"Snoke," Rey rasps out, her hands rubbing at the red lines around her wrists. Finn can see a nasty looking cut just below her hairline. He's wondering what exactly took place after he got knocked out. "I thought we were friends. Is this how you treat you friends?"

Snoke smirks and it's more than unsettling. "Funny you should say that because I thought we were friends as well. But normally my friends don't steal from me."

Finn winces. They've been made. This isn't going to be an easy situation to get out of.

Rey simply stares defiantly at Snoke, not flinching nor saying a word. Finn figures maybe he should try and play mediator.

"Listen, we're sorry we tried to sell you a fake but - "

"The painting wasn't fake." Snoke looks at him as if he should have known that before motioning between the two of them. "Did she not tell you she gave me the real thing?"

Finn turns his head to look at Rey for an answer, but she seems intent on holding her gaze with the floor. Guess that in itself is an answer.

Now he's  _really_  confused and only a small amount of that is stemming from his head trauma. If there was never a fake painting to hand off, and Rey actually gave him the real article, what does Snoke have to be upset about? The way Finn sees it, this wasn't even a con; this was a legitimate business deal.

"You know, as infuriated as I am, I'm actually way more impressed." Snoke continues, crossing his legs. "Not only did you manage to steal half a million dollars from me, but you also stole all of your daddy's paintings too. That - that takes a certain level of skillful genius I have to appreciate."

Rey scoffs with a roll of her eyes. "They  _are_  rightfully mine so I would hardly call that stealing."

Snoke shakes his head and nods for Julius to walk over to Finn. The large man sighs before pressing the muzzle of his gun against the back of Finn's head. His eyes squeeze shut instinctually.

"Being a smart aleck, Rey, is only going to get your husband shot."

"Okay! Sorry, just - wait. Please, wait!" She cries out frantically. "Don't hurt him. Finn isn't apart of this, okay? He didn't know anything about what I was really doing."

"Oh please," Snoke says with the click of his tongue. "He's got CIA written all over him."

CIA? The CIA is involved in this now? Finn's head is spinning.

"He isn't, I swear. I know you sent Hux to watch me the morning before your dinner party and the girl I was with then - she's CIA, as is the guy that delivered the painting to you but not Finn. He's innocent in all this, I promise."

While he's a little preoccupied by the gun pressed against his head, Finn still tries to digest everything Rey's confessed to in the last few minutes.

So, the painting was actually real, she somehow stole the rest of the collection from Snoke and on top of all of this, this CIA is somehow involved. Lovely.

Snoke groans rather dramatically. "So what you're saying is he's not CIA but he's not exactly your partner either? Then who exactly is he then?"

"Um, I'm Finn and I'm able to speak for myself." Finn pauses, waiting for Snoke to motion to Julius to lower his gun. "Look, I met Rey literally days before we got here. The only thing she told me is that she was selling a painting and she wanted me to tag along. Call it her version of an extravagant first date."

"Wait, you two aren't really an item? I actually thought that was the one genuine thing about this." He shrugs. "Anyhow Little Skywalker, tell me where my paintings are or I'm going to kill Finn in front of you."

Finn's eyes widen in horror. He would really,  _really_  prefer it if that didn't happen.

"If you harm him in any way I guarantee you I'll never tell you what I did with  _my_  paintings." Rey barks at him. Finn's never seen her so angry. "In fact, I'll make sure that they're destroyed. All of them. And the money will be gone too."

"Fine." Snoke chuckles. He nods over to Rey and Julius appears again, this time pressing the gun to her head. Finn thinks the whole 'gun-to-head' thing is getting pretty old now. "Your turn now, Finn. Lets see if you're a little more cooperative. Tell me where they are or - well, I'm sure you can guess what the outcome is gonna be."

Finn's fingers grab tightly onto the arms of his chair. He wants to leap forward and lay into Snoke for threatening the two of them, but he's sure any sort of movement will only result in Julius pulling the trigger. "Leave her alone, Snoke. I don't - I don't know where they are. I swear."

Snoke clicks his tongue, looking quite unimpressed. "Why do the two of you seem to think I'm joking? Do you think I ended up on the CIA's most wanted list by bluffing threats?"

"He's telling the truth, Snoke. He doesn't know - " Rey's words are cut off when Julius cocks the gun. First chance he gets, Finn is going to make these guys pay for this.

"Listen, one of you better say something of interest to me in the next ten seconds or I'm going to have the very distinct honor of being the man that killed the last Skywalker."

Finn's panicking. Rey seems intent on dying to protect these paintings (when they get out of this - and they will! - he is going to have a serious discussion with her about her lack of self-preservation in this situation) and he can't save her because he really doesn't know where they are.

No, no, no. He knows what to do. This is just survival and that's something he's done his whole life. Survive.

"Fine!" He yells, doing his best to sound convincing. "The paintings are...with Lando."

Both Rey and Snoke - and Julius, who thankfully lowers his gun - give him confused looks.

"Lando?" Snoke repeats slowly. "Who the hell is Lando?"

"Finn, shut up - " Rey hisses at him. He ignores her in favor of keeping this lie going.

"Lando, um - Calrissian; Lando Calrissian is his name - he's our smuggling expert." Finn shrugs. "That's why we can't tell you where they are because Lando's already taken them out of France."

Snoke grits his teeth. "So what you're saying is my paintings are gone?" Finn gives a half-shrug, half-nod in response. "I spent  _years_  acquiring each and every one of those priceless pieces of art. I cannot believe I lost it all to the pre-school version of Bonnie and Clyde."

The goon called Nigel takes a cautious step forward. "Sir, we could always just find this Calrissian guy ourselves. I mean now that we have his name - "

"Lando Calrissian doesn't exist, Nigel." Snoke says, absolutely seething. "He lied because he doesn't want me to hurt her. But if I ask her, she's just going to lie so I won't hurt him. These two are going to continue to lie to me and put themselves in danger to protect one another because love makes smart people do stupid things."

"So what do we do now?" Nigel asks. Snoke sighs, his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose.

"You know I really liked the two of you." He says, sounding much like a disappointed parent. "Sure you're both young and green but the potential is all there. In another life where you don't do something as foolish as attempt to screw me over, I could have helped you two become something great. With my help, you could have amassed however big of a fortune your hearts' desired. You could have been loved, feared, envied. I would have turned the two of you into gods."

As if to punctuate his (admittedly melodramatic) speech, there's a loud crash coming from somewhere inside the huge mansion. Once he woke up, Finn recognized the gaudy decor of the room there were in and realized they're back in Snoke's home. He doesn't know how many rooms are in this place, but somewhere in one of them, someone - or a lot of someones by the sound of it - is making quite the commotion.

Snoke turns to both Nigel and Julius with a scowl. "What was that?" They both blink back dumbly before there's another crash and the very distinct sound of footsteps. A lot of footsteps. "Don't just stand there, go and see what that is!"

Julius nods and opens the door to the room. Before he can step out, he's met by  _several_  men in tactical gear with  _very_  scary looking weapons pointed at them. Finn lets out a sigh of relief when he sees 'CIA' stamped on the front of their vests.

"Well this is just the perfect way to top this day off." Snoke spits out, reluctantly raising his hands for the incoming agents.

One of them scans the room and upon laying eyes on Finn and Rey, lowers his gun and grabs the walkie attached to his belt. "Room is clear. And tell the Director I found her ' _packages_ '. They're a little banged up but safe."

Sensing that the chances of him getting shot were significantly lower now, Finn jumped out of his chair and quickly closed the short distance between himself and Rey. His hands instantly start to examine her, mentally categorizing every scratch, every bruise, every hair out of place so he'll know just how much punishment Snoke and his lackeys deserve.

"Rey," he winces running his thumb near the cut on her forehead, wiping away some of the blood. He has about a million questions - the painting was real? She somehow knows CIA agents? She stole all of her dad's pieces from Snoke? - but none of them come out. He's just so happy that she's (relatively) okay and they're both out of immediate danger.

Finn is sure they'll be a time and a place for him to ask her everything and more but that time and place is not here and not now.

*

The next few hours are a complete blur. After arriving at some strange building, Finn and Rey are immediately separated. He's put into a room that looks unsettlingly like an interrogation room and herds of people, men and women flood in to ask Finn this question or that question. They all seem to want him to tell them various things about Rey.

_How long have you known, Miss Skywalker? What is the nature of your relationship with Miss Skywalker? What exactly did Miss Skywalker say she was going to do once you arrived in Monaco?_

Finn answers everything the same - with a vacant stare. He would like to help them, really, but Rey's blood is still on his palms and no one's allowed him the chance to wipe it off.

After another round of fruitless questioning, a woman walks in. She's stately, obviously in charge of this whole thing. She sits in front of him and gives him a sympathetic smile before handing him a wet towel. Thank god.

"Finn, is it?" She asks. He nods. "Are you okay after what happened?"

He looks up. No one's asked him that yet.

"Yeah," Finn nods, even though, truthfully, he's still reeling. "Yeah, I'm okay. I, uh - how is Rey? Is she - she's fine, right? She's okay and everything?"

The woman smiles and it feels somewhat familiar. "You must not have known her very long."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because if you had, you would know it's gonna take a lot more than a rich sociopath kidnapping her to shake her." She laughs, leaning back in her chair. "She's completely fine. Last time I checked on her, she was eating a pack of those little sandwich crackers and yelling at the men guarding her door."

Finn finally feels like he can breathe. He doesn't hesitate to ask his next question. "Can I see her? Please?"

The woman stands and motions for Finn to follow her. They walk through the building and down a pair of hallways before stopping in front of a closed door. He can hear Rey's voice on the other side. Finn can't stop himself from smiling.

"I will give the two of you," the woman glances at her watch. "Ten minutes. Then I take you back."

Finn wants to ask why they're being kept away from each other, but he'll do it later. Right now he just wants to see Rey.

When he walks in, he has to physically stop himself from running the short distance over to her. He's so happy to see her alive and smiling - there aren't very many words to describe how he's feeling.

"Finn!" She all but shouts, looking equally as happy to see him. When he reaches her, she takes his face in her hands and presses her lips to his.

"Are you okay?" Finn shakes his head, wishing he didn't ask that. They only have ten minutes. He needs to be better with his questions. "I mean obviously you're okay, but - how are you feeling?"

"Well besides the fact that I'm pissed they are refusing to give me juice to go along with my crackers, I'm fine." She runs her thumbs over his cheekbones. "How about you? Are you alright?"

Finn shrugs. "I might be a little a better if I knew why I was currently in CIA custody."

"Right," Rey simply lowers her head sheepishly. "About that..."

"You lied to me, Rey. About everything. And you promised that you would never do that." Finn is trying his hardest not to seem angry because, truthfully, he isn't. Confused? Overwhelmingly so. Irritated? Just a little. But angry? Not really. He trusts that whatever reason Rey had for hiding all this from him is a good one.

"I didn't lie to you, Finn. I just - I just didn't tell you the whole truth."

"Okay, so you lied by omission. Because that's so much better." He sighs, grabbing her hands in his. "You know what? I don't even care that you lied, not really. What I care about is that you felt like you couldn't trust me to know the truth. Because maybe if you had, all this wouldn't have happened."

"Finn I trust you more than anyone else I know, you know that. I was just trying to protect you - "

"From what?"

Rey stares at him for a moment, as if she's struggling with whether or not to answer his question. Thankful, she chooses to tell him everything.

"This whole thing was a setup." She says with a heavy sigh. "A couple of months ago one of my bigger cons went horribly wrong and I got arrested. My aunt, Leia, is the director of the CIA and she must have had a flag on my name or something because she showed up that night and told me if I helped her with a sting operation, I would avoid jail time completely.

"I took the deal, obviously, but I had no idea it involved my dad's paintings. Once I found out, I had already made it up in my mind that I was going to leave France with all four of the paintings plus Snoke's money." Her eyes glance up to the very noticeable security camera mounted in the corner of ceiling. "Allegedly."

"So why involve me?"

"Because you were cute and my horoscope said I'd meet someone that would change my path in life so - "

"Wait, you brought me to France to screw a guy who is on the CIA's most wanted list out of half a million dollars and to ' _allegedly_ ' double cross the freakin' CIA all because  _your horoscope_  told you to?!"

"Well when you say it like  _that_ , of course it's gonna sound crazy."

Finn honestly doesn't know what to say. He should be furious at her, not only for keeping all this from him but involving him in the first place, yet all he can muster is a feeling of mild annoyance at her. Snoke was right. Love does make smart people stupid.

Rey's hands flex in his, grabbing his attention. "I'm sorry for not telling you all of that sooner, it's just those painting are all I have left of my dad. I couldn't let them hang in some sociopath's stupid mansion or in some CIA evidence room. They belong with me."

He understands. If a bunch of paintings were the only thing left of one of his parents, he'd want them in his possession too.

"So I'm guessing by the way everyone out there is scrambling, they can't find the paintings, can they?" He asks with a raised eyebrow.

Rey shakes her head, the faintest hint of a smirk on her lips. "Or the money."

Finn doesn't know how she does it, and he stopped trying to figure out a long time ago, but she's good. Scarily good.

"And I don't suppose you're going to tell  _me_  where they are?"

"Well I can't because I don't know where they are." She follows up her words by pointing at her ear and silently mouthing to him, ' _they're listening_ '. "But paintings and money aside, I'm glad you're okay. I would have probably killed Snoke with my bare hands if he did anything to you."

"Aw, you would kill a man for me?" Finn shuffles closer to her, his hands settling at her waist. "That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me."

And when Rey leans forward and kisses him, he's not sure if it's genuine or something for the cameras obviously watching them, but it really doesn't matter. In fact, there isn't much that  _does_  matter when he's kissing her.

After just a few seconds, the door swings open and the woman from earlier steps in, loudly clearing her throat in an effort to get them to break apart.

"Times up." She says with the tiniest of smiles. She must have been watching from outside. "Lets go, Finn."

Rey squeezes Finn's hand and looks at him with those sad eyes of hers and - gosh, he really doesn't want to leave.

"Does he have to, Leia? I mean - "

Finn's eyes widen. "Wait,  _this_  is your aunt?"

Her aunt just walked in on them sort of making out. Finn isn't sure how he feels about that.

"Yes, I'm the aunt. And no, Finn can't stay."

Rey pouts and Finn gives her one last quick kiss before (reluctantly) following Leia - her  _CIA director_  aunt - out of her holding room and back to his.

*

It's hard to keep up with the passage of time from inside of the holding rooms, but Finn suspects it must have been another hour and a half before anyone comes into his room.

The woman who walks in isn't Director Organa, but someone he hasn't seen before. She's a tall woman, her platinum blonde hair slicked back meticulously into a bun atop her head. She doesn't smile like Leia did, and there's something definitely cold about her presence.

"Alright," she says, taking the seat in front of him. She looks inside of a blue folder as if she's searching for his name. "Finn. How do you know Rey Skywalker?"

Finn rolls his eyes. He's hungry and tired and he's been asked that a million times already. "Look, your little trainees out there already asked me those questions when I first got here."

"Between you and me,  _Director Organa_  wanted me to ask you those questions. But see, I already know the answer to all of them." She says with a tight-lipped smile, if you could even call it that. "You barely know Miss Skywalker but the two of you share a deep connection, right? And why wouldn't you? I mean you both grew up in nearly identical situations. You two just  _get_  each other, right?"

"If this is your attempt at driving a wedge between us, it's pretty poor." And it has a zero percent chance of working, but she seems intent on giving it a go.

"So you understand how broken she is and she understands how broken you are, and all of that combined with a near suffocating physical attraction to one another, as Agent Pava put it - you two make the perfect little Bonnie and Clyde."

Finn blinks at her, unimpressed at her weak attempt to get him to somehow change the way he looks at his relationship with Rey.

"Finn, that girl in there doesn't love you. I'm not even sure she likes you. What I am sure of is that she sees you as a fall guy. The day she got arrested, she took her aunt's deal and flipped on her partner. He's currently serving hard time while she's a free woman. She's a conwoman, Finn. She's incapable of genuine feelings."

"If all of this is leading up to you asking me to tell you where the paintings and money are, I have bad news for you." Finn leans back in his chair, his hands folding over his middle. "I don't know where they are."

The woman's jaw visibly clenches. He's certainly done his bit to irritate her. She takes a breath, attempting to regain her calm.

"Don't be stupid, Finn. Do not to prison just to protect this girl."

"Protect her from what?" He asks, rhetorically. "From the sound of it, you guys don't have enough to charge either of us with anything. From the sound of it, all you know is a bunch of paintings that were owned by a sociopath are missing and you think we were somehow involved. From the sound of it, Rey and I are being held here for absolutely no reason and you guys are scrambling to find one. All that sound about right?"

Before she could respond - Finn has a feeling he was in for an earful just judging by her body language - the door swings open and in walks Director Organa. He's more than a lot happy to see her.

She stands in the doorway, something of a disappointed look on her face. "Finn, you are free to go."

The woman interrogating him looks stunned and, to be honest, Finn himself is a little shocked. He knew he wouldn't be arrested - everything he told his interrogator was true; they really  _didn't_  have enough evidence to hold them, let alone charge them - he just didn't think he'd be let go so quickly.

"Director," she stands and goes over to Leia. She's attempting to whisper but he's still able to hear what's being said. "Give me ten more minutes, I can break him. We'll get what we need - "

Leia simply shakes her head. "He's been cleared. I can't allow you to hold an innocent man."

"What about Rey?" Finn interjects. "Is she free to go, too? Because I won't leave without - "

"You're  _both_  free to go." Leia answers with an amused smile. "She's waiting for you in the lobby."

Finn shoots up out of his chair and squeezes past the two women in the doorway to make his way out of the interrogation room. There's yet another agent that hands him a plastic bag full of the belongings they took from him when he first arrived - his wallet, cellphone, etc. - and helped to direct him through winding hallways and out into the giant lobby of the building they're in. It's mostly deserted - he thinks it may be an embassy of some sort - so Finn's able to spot Rey rather quickly.

As soon as she sees him, she holds her hand out for him to take. Finn laces their fingers together before leading them out of the building. The sooner they can get as far away from this place as possible, the better.

Neither one of them say anything - to be fair, they have been through  _a lot_  today - until they come across a giant fountain in the city square. They sit on the edge of it, both waiting for the other to speak first.

"So," Finn concedes to go ahead and talk first. "I think you owe me something of an explanation."

Rey gives him a little half-smile. "Alright, what part do you wanna know first?"

"Lets start with how we managed to avoid getting caught back there."

"Oh that's quite simple. When the artwork was being taken from Snoke's mansion, we were at our hotel. How could we have stolen anything if we were in our room all night?"

Finn hums. He supposes that  _is_  a solid alibi. "And where  _is_  all the artwork anyway? I mean how'd it up and leave the mansion?"

"Well, I did my homework on Snoke before we got here. I found out that he's sort of a neat freak and has his mansion cleaned by a trusted crew every Saturday night. So I simply greased a few palms and the crew agreed to load up Poe's van with the art." Rey explains with a nonchalant shrug.

"How do you know they won't rat us out?"

"See, funny thing about Snoke - he hires a trusted crew of  _criminals_  to clean his house. They go anywhere  _near_  law enforcement and they'll be behind bars before they can even mention anything that happened last night."

Again, pretty solid way to tie up that particular loose end.

"So where are the paintings now?" Finn asks. "I mean I have to imagine they were looking everywhere for them."

"Oh they're safe with Poe." Rey answers with a wave of her hand. "He and I have scheduled check ins; if I don't call him, he's supposed to come to our hotel room. I'm assuming he saw the place deserted and knew to go ahead and put our contingency plan in place. Which means he's currently at a private airstrip on a plane ready to get us the hell out of here."

"And just to be clear, this was your plan all along? To put one over on the  _CIA_?"

"Well I had to improvise a bit here and there but, yeah, for the most part."

Finn is  _thoroughly_  impressed. He sort of feels the way he did the first night he met her when he watched her flawlessly lift that old man's class ring.

"You're a genius, you know that? An insanely, clever genius."

"Couldn't have done any of it without you." Rey says with the kind of honesty that makes Finn's face feel warm. "I mean we got my dad's paintings, a nice bit of money  _and_  we sort of helped put away a guy on the CIA's most wanted list. We make a pretty badass team, you and me.

And yeah, Finn would have to agree with that. "So, where to next? Back home? Or do you have another millionaire criminal you wanna take down?"

"Well," she stands, spinning gracefully on her heel to face him. "Seeing as how we have half a million dollars to blow through, have you ever been to Mykonos? I hear it's nice this time of year."

A more sane man would have looked at Rey's outstretched hand, thanked her for the whirlwind that was the past few days and politely decline. A more sane man would have returned back home and gone back to a more sheltered life of wrangling grocery carts and stealing the occasional wallet here and there.

And Finn used to be a sane man. He used to think believing in fate was for suckers until fate took his path and crossed it with Rey's. He used to think he was doomed to live a mundane life until Rey showed him he could have much, much more. And he used to not think so much about if he would ever find someone to share his life with until Rey presented herself as a very possible (and only) partner.

But Finn isn't that sane man anymore.

So he grabs her hand (gladly) and prepares to follow her wherever she wants to go without so much as a glance back at whatever the two of them leave behind.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so after 64 years, i have _finally_ provided an ending to this story. why this was so hard for me to write, i do not know but i am glad i've posted it and its semi-decent. thanks to everyone who stuck with me through this ~~ride through hell~~ fic. you guys are awesome!
> 
> as always, kudos/comments (even ones telling me how much i suck for taking four damn months to update) are appreciated!


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